Airing device



' Nov. 29, '1949 J. WILLIAMS AIRING DEVICE Filed Nov. 24, 1947 [rm enter- James Pl /Y/fams Patented Nov. 29,1949

2,489,472 AIRLNG DEVICE James Williams, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application November 24,

In Great Britain, January 15, 1947 6 Claims.

This invent on relates to a device for airing or drying clothes or other similar art cles and more particularly to an airing device of the type employing radial arms which when not required may be folded, and the princ pal object of the invention is to provide a sturdy and extremely convenient and inexpensive airing device which will ensure that articles placed thereon are exposed for maximum. drying effects to greatly reduce drying time and which, when not in use, can be quickly collapsed to occupy a minimum of space.

A' further important object is to provide a readily manufactured airing device which can be quickly assembled and installed and will incorporate radially extending clothes supporting frames which will, when not in use, be secure against accidental displacement but which can be readily swung when not required to a collapsed position.

A further object is to provide an airing device of such a structure which will permitthe use of light weight materials yet willprovide thef'necese sary high degree of rigidity to ensure articles placed thereon will be adequately supported.

A still further object is to provide an airing device which will have an exceedingly attractive appearance and will have no exposed sharpened corners or protuberances which'co'uld cause bodily injury upon accidental contact.

The principal feature of the invention consists in forming a plurality of elongated clothes supportin frames having spaced-apart longi-i tudinal sides, and providing a supporting bracket having a plurality of radially extending arms connected adjacent their outer 'en'dsby a curved band, the frames being supported when in use in horizontal radially eXtending're-. lation by said bracket with the inner frame ends engaging the underside of the radially extending arms and the sides of the frame engaging the upper edge of the curved band, the frames when not in use being adapted to hang substantially vertically on the arms with the outer frame ends engaging the upper arm surfaces.

A further important feature consists in form" ing the clc-thessupporting frames from a length of rod or heavy wire bent into generally U-form and providing means for temporarily connecting the outer ends of the parallel sides of the frames, the inner closed ends of the U-frame being bent downwardly out of the plane of the frames and drawn into a V-formation, the undersurface of the arms of the bracket being provided with notches to receive the apex of the inner V ends 1947, Serial No. 787,687

of the frames and the upper surface of the bracket band having notches spaced either side of the arms to receive the sides of the frame, the notches preventing accidental longitudinal or lateral movement of the frames, the frames when desired being removable from the bracket upon removal of the means temporarily connecting their outer ends,

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my airing device showing the manner in which the clothes-supporting frames are held in horizontal position when in use and illustrating the vertical position to which they can be swung when not in use.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the device shown in Figure 1 and showing the clothes-supporting frames in horizontal radially extendin position Figure 3 is a plan view of an alternative form of bracket for supporting the airing frames.

In previous constructions of drying racks or airin devices the articles to be dried have been supported by a length of rod or vertical frame and the drying air only passes over the outside of the article, requiring extended periods of drying.

In addition, while collapsible racks have been proposed they have been both cumbersome and expensive and awkward to manipulate. Further the use of a rigid outwardly extending bar is a hazard within the home, leading to possible serious accidents.

The present invention has accordingly been devised to provide an extremely convenient form of airing device which will support the articles to be dried so that the drying air can pass up the inside of the article lying over the supporting frame, thus drying time is greatly reduced.

The invention further contemplates a device which will have an attractive appearance and which will have no pointed or sharpened protuberances which could inflict injuries.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, my device consists of a backing plate 5 to be mounted on a wall or other suitable vertical supporting surface 2 and carrying a semi-circular outwardly extending band 3 secured thereto at the ends as at It. The plane of the semi-circular band 3 is vertical when the backing plate is disposed against the surface of the wall 2.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2 the band 3 is supported by a double A frame 5 secured to the backing plate and to intermediate portions of the band, the frame 5 defining a plurality of radially extending arms 6, the outer ends of which terminate at the band 3, The frame 5 is preferably formed from a continuous strip vertically arranged and the radial arm portions 6 are provided with notches l in their bottom edge adjacent the backing plate I.

The upper edge of the band 3 is provided with notches 8 spaced equally on each side of the arms 6.

To facilitate mounting of the backing plate I it is provided with a pair of key hole slots 9 which receive and engage the heads of studs or screws I secured to the supporting surface.

The drying or air frames or racks l I to be supported by the bracket structure as defined by the backing plate I, band 3 and double A frame consists of a length of rod or heavy wire doubled to form a generally U-shaped frame having parallel sides I2. The open ends of the frames are turned inwardly at right angles as at 13 to receive a connecting tube I i which serves to close the open outer frame ends.

The inner ends of the frames H are bent out of the plane of the frame and form an obtuse angle therewith, and these bent inner frame ends B5 are of substantially V-shaped form to provide end apexes it adapted to engage in the notches l in the radially extending arms while the sides of the frame adjacent the bends are adapted to engage in the notches 8 of the band 3.

Thus as clearly illustrated, when the frame apex i5 is in the notch 1 and the frame sides l2 are in the notches 8 the frame will extend radially outwardly from the backing plate I in a horizontal position with the longitudinal spaced-apart sides ll adapted to receive an article or piece of clothing placed thereover for drying, the spacedapart sides ensuring that the article hanging over the frame will be exposed to the drying air which can freely circulate over the inner and outer surface.

When the frames II are not required for drying or airing it will be readily appreciated on inspection of Figure 1 that they may be swung upwardly and inwardly and lowered vertically until the tube 5!: connecting the outer ends rests against the upper surface of the supporting radial arm 6.

When it is desired to assemble or remove one of the frames H from the supporting bracket as formed by the members i, 3 and 5 it is merely necessary to remove the tube l4 and the open end past either side of the supporting arm 6.

Because the lever force exerted by clothes placed on the frames H is exerted edgewise against the frame 5 and the band 3, the strips or bands forming both the frame A and the semicircular band 3 may be of light material while giving the required rigidity. Thus the whole bracket as formed by the backing plate I, frame 5 and the band 3 may be made of light gauge metal and preferably may be made of aluminum to provide an exceedingly light and inexpensive structure which may of course be plated as desired to enhance its appearance.

In the modified form of my invention illustrated in Figure 3, the double A frame 5 is replaced by a plurality of radially extending rods I l which form radially extending arms corresponding to the arm portions 5 of the frame 5. Again notches !3 provided in the under surface of these rods and the band 3 is notched as before.

With the construction described the clothessupporting frames H can be quickly raised from heir vertical position and swung to a horizontal position, and when in their horizontal outwardly extending position they will be secure from either lateral or longitudinal displacement by virtue of the notches 1 and 8, thus accidental jarring of the frames will not displace them, preventing articles placed thereon for airing from being discharged.

From the foregoing therefore it will be appreciated that my device will be extremely simple to manufacture and can be readily produced at a low cost. Further, it will be seen that my device will be extremely convenient to use, occupying the minimum of space when not in use and serving when in use, by virtue of the spaced sides I l, to hold the articles to be aired or dried in such a manner as to provide maximum surface exposure, greatly decreasing drying time.

Of further importance is the fact that my device presents no sharpened or pointed projections or surfaces which could result in injury to the person upon accidental contact, eliminating the hazard present with the ordinary bar or rod type of drying rack.

While I have shown particular forms of brackets and drying frames, it will be appreciated that other structures utilizing my principle may be resorted to without departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An airing device comprising in combination a supporting bracket having substantially horizontal outwardly extending arms and an outer member connecting the ends of said arms, and a plurality of elongated frames having substantially parallel longitudinal spaced-apart connecting sides straddling said arms, said frames when in use being adapted to extend outwardly in a substantially horizontal position with the inner ends thereof engaging the undersurfaces of said arms and the sides thereof engaging the upper surface of said outer bracket member, said frames when not in use being swingable to a vertical position with the outer ends thereof supported by the upper surfaces of said arms.

2. An airing device comprising in combination a supporting bracket having a plurality of substantially horizontal radially extending arms and an outer curved member connecting the ends of said arms, and a plurality of elongated frames having substantially parallel longitudinal spaced connecting sides straddling said arms, said frames when in use being adapted to extend radially outwardly in a substantially horizontal position with the inner ends thereof engaging the undersurfaces of said arms and the sides thereof engag ing the upper surface of said outer curved member, said frames when not in use being swingable to a vertical position with the outer ends thereof supported by the upper surfaces of said arms.

3. An airing device comprising a bracket having a backing plate, a plurality of substantially horizontal arms extending radially outwardly from said plate, a semi-circular band connecting the outer ends of said arms and connected at the ends to said plate, and a plurality of longitudinal generally U-shaped frames straddling said arms and having means closing their open ends, said frames when in use being swung to a substantially horizontal outwardly extending position with the inner ends thereof engaging the undersurfaces of said arms and the sides thereof engaging the upper surface of said band, said frames when not in use being swung to a vertical position and sup-- ported by the upper surfaces of said arms.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 in which the under surfaces of the arms are provided with notches to receive the inner ends of said frames and said band is provided with notches spaced on either side of said arms to receive the sides of said frames.

5. A device as claimed in claim 3 in which said means closing the open ends of the frames is removable to permit the frames to be removed from said bracket.

6. An airing device comprising a supporting bracket having a backing plate, a semi-circular band secured to and extending outwardly from said plate, a frame formed from a strip bent into a plurality of alternate sections secured to said plate and said band and providing a plurality of arms extending radially outwardly from said plate, and a plurality of elongated frames having parallel spaced-apart sides straddling said arms, said elongated frames when in use being adapted to extend radially outwardly in a substantially horizontal position with the inner ends thereof engaging the bottom edges of said arms and the 6 sides thereof engaging the upper edge of said semi-circular band, the bottom edges of said arms having notches therein to receive said inner frame ends and the upper edge of said band being provided with notches disposed on either side of said arms to receive the frame sides.

JAMES WILLIAMS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 33,232 Bigelow Sept. 10, 1861 101,906 Newcomer Apr. 12, 1870 395,775 French Jan. 8, 1889 1,100,882 Ismond June 23, 1914 2,158,616 Blameuser May 16, 1939 20 2,446,142 Root July 2'7, 1948 

